I intend to make my comeback to martial arts at least in 2004, hopefully sooner. The problem is my physical condition sucks ass; &amp; I can't afford to go to a gym... So how good (or not) are push-ups &amp; sit-ups, &amp; what is the best way of doing them? Repeats? Pushing to the max? etc? wtf?

Of course you need to do some cardio to build speed/stamina, but push-ups and sit-ups can definitely improve overall physical condition and help to tone you up (if you are looking to get 'bigger' you'll need to lift more than your body weight, though)

If you REALLY want to be sore don't switch back and forth from push-ups to ab work. Do all the sit-ups and leg lift one right after the other. The move onto your push-up sets one right after the other. You'll surely 'feel the burn' lmao

TKDist....if he's out of shape you're going to put him into fukking cardiac arrest with that damn routine.

Why dont you just try jogging for a bit? If you've become a fat fukker than sit ups really aren't going to do shiit for you man. You need to burn fat and lose water weight and the only way to do that is Cardio vascular and aerobic excersise. You can lift weights but that wont halp you shed the poundage from all those White Castles you've been shoving down your throat, pork chop.

You need to get that oversized heart of your used to working again so jogging is a good start followed by some light weights.

LLL, we all at one point have to start over or for some start all together. Increasing your aerobic activity is the best way to start yourself back on track. I have found lifting weights just hampers my performance, you might find not to in your case.

The first step is the hardest, getting yourself in motion. You'll find the adage, a body in motion is apt to what you need to do, just keep going.

As for pushups and situps. I did 2 months of that with about 3 miles a day when I was in the military. It works, you must be focused.

There are other methods, PD mentioned them earlier without weights, they are excercises that Matt Furey adheres too.

Hindu Pushups and Hindu Squats. I've tried both, interesting workout for sure. Didn't like them much would rather just roll.

Good luck.

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"When we go to the ground, you are in my world. The ground is the ocean, I am the shark, and most people don't even know how to swim." RCJ Machado

Originally Posted by Sifu Rudy Abel

"Just what makes a pure grappler think he can survive with an experienced striker. Especially if that striker isn't following any particular rule set and is well aware of what the grapplers strategies are".

If you are completely out of shape, 30 mins of cardio at least three to four times a week is the only answer. However, if you are overweight, jogging is not the best thing for you. Jogging is excellent for burning fat and increasing stamina but it is also a lot of impact for your knees to take if you are an optimal body weight, let alone a few pounds heavy. Work your way up to jogging by using a bicycle. You can get a fair bike for cheap out of the newspaper if you don't already have one. Go for a high paced walk every other morning. You don't have do that race walking thing to get the benefits. Also, I don't know how your diet pans out right now, but some good rules of thumb to start: Try to cut out as much salt and saturated fats as you can. Increase water intake and decrease soft drinks or anything sugary like heavily sweetened coffee or tea. Please don't fall for that Atkins diet ****. You NEED carbs if you are exercising. Most fad diets are fads for a reason, they only work until the next fad diet - by which time you are in worse shape than you were to begin with. Just try to eat wheat over white whenever possible and don't overdo the fries, chips, etc. ---I am not saying you do any of this, just dumping general helpful hints---Also, when you begin to elevate your work out program eat a couple bananas in the morning after your work out. Potassium content in bananas is excellent and helps to fight the build up of lactic acid in the muscles. Burst sacs of lactic acid during muscle recovery is what causes soreness. Nothing can errode your resolve like a super sore morning after. As far as muscle toning. Push ups and sit ups are good, but won't help you lose weight by themselves. But keep in mind that in the course of a normal day, optimally functioning muscle burns more calories than muscle that is not toned. Well toned muscle also keeps limber without constant stretching and is therefore less likely to cramp or strain. So increasing tone with sit ups and pushups WILL contribute. Very important to keep stretching. Even people in good shape can get a light sweat going during a good stretching routine mixed with some mild exercises like sit ups and pushups. But then again, I live in Florida, we sweat all the time . . . Good luck. Hope I have helped in some way.